DSpace is open-source software for institutional repositories, used to manage and publish digital content such as research outputs and theses. It is installed on the organisation's own servers, so the operator decides where the repository is hosted. It is an alternative to hosted repository platforms such as Elsevier Digital Commons, for institutions that want to keep their repository under their own control.
DSpace is developed under the DSpace Program, which is part of Lyrasis, a non-profit membership organisation headquartered in Alpharetta, Georgia, in the United States. The code is published under the BSD licence and is developed in public on GitHub. The maintainer is therefore a US organisation, so European institutions should take its governance into account when assessing support and long-term development. Data stays wherever the installing organisation runs the software.